


Coffee House Rebels

by The_Hinky_Panda



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Hinky_Panda/pseuds/The_Hinky_Panda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just another stormpilot coffee house au. Finn is an Army Lieutenant between tours. Poe Dameron is a local anti-war protestor who runs his own coffee house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee House Rebels

 

_Blow a kiss, fire a gun_

_All we need is somebody to lean on._

_~Somebody to Lean On_

 

Everyone is his unit goes to the Starbucks one block from base. So he googles local coffee shops and heads to one with the name “Rebellion.” The name makes him smile and it is such an unfamiliar feeling, he takes it as a sign. Thankfully Rebellion is in the opposite direction, two blocks down and one over. If anyone is curious where he’s headed, they don’t ask. They never do.

The summer sun is hot, the air holding so much humidity, his fatigues are heavy with sweat by the time he reaches the place. It’s a narrow building with a brightly painted antique glass door in turquoise. He opens the door, expecting a blast of cold air only to be sorely disappointed. The air inside the small space is just as stuffy as the air outside. He considers leaving when something large and orange catches his eye behind the counter.

A large, very rotund, orange tabby cat is laying on top of a five-pound bag of ice on the back counter.

Two tours in Afghanistan and he has heatstroke on the second day back Stateside. Of all things to hallucinate about though, he is sorely disappointed in his subconscious.

“Sorry, AC is down for the foreseeable future,” a man’s voice carries from the back. It sounds like dishes are being washed. “Be out in a minute. There’s free water on the counter.”

“Uh, thanks.” He starts to reach for one of the plastic cups that have been left out next to a pitcher of ice water when the cat suddenly stands up. Its closed eyes are open wide, the same bright orange as its coat. He puts the cup back down and the cat sits on top of the ice. He retreats a step and the cat lays back down but watches him with its piercing gaze. He must be losing his mind. Or having an aneurysm.

“Sorry for the wait.” The man that appears from the back is about the same height as he is but leaner. His dark hair is wet, curling into tight rings and he’s wearing a sleeveless white shirt and shorts. As he moves behind the counter, there’s the familiar slap sound of flip-flops. His dark eyes take in the army fatigues with a touch of confusion. “Army, huh?”

He feels like he has a mouth full of sand. “Uh, yeah.”

“Lieutenant Finn, is it?”

Aneurysm. Definitely having an aneurysm. “How’d you-”

He laughs easily. “You might want to up your water intake, soldier. It’s on your jacket.”

Maybe not an aneurysm then. Could be a stroke. Was that the one when you smelled burnt toast? Arm tingling? No, that was a heart attack. He opens his mouth to apologize for just standing there staring when the other man beats him to it.

“Sorry for staring, man. We don’t usually see a lot of military in here. Not in-service military at least.”

That seems about right. Finn had a way of finding places where he wasn’t welcome. “Didn’t realize you were anti-military.”

“Oh, we’re not.” The man leans on the counter and crosses his arms. “Hell, I flew in the Air Force for a while before, you know, living the dream of running a coffee shop with no AC in the middle of a heatwave.”

“So why do the soldiers steer clear of this place?” He tries to make it sound like he’s interested and not relieved.

“Why don’t I get you something to drink, iced of course, and you have a look around?”

“Okay, decaf. Doesn’t matter what.” Finn reaches for his wallet but the owner waves him off.

“First drink is on the house for servicemen.”

And the guy winks at him. Honest to god, full blown wink and grin. Finn shrugs out of his jacket and drops it over the back of an empty chair. He hopes it will help with the overheated feeling he has but it doesn’t. He does as the owner asked and takes a slow stroll around the shop. There’s no one else there but him so he has the freedom to look at the pictures and posters up close.

Many of them are posters promoting peace and nonviolence. There were a couple that were framed that were from a local high school art class. There were also music posters, mostly announcing bands like U2 and other classic rock, intermingled in with the protest posters. Then he came to the wall that was nothing but framed photographs of anti-war protests. It didn’t take him long to notice there was a repeat offender in the majority of pictures.

“Holy shit, you’re-”

“Poe Dameron.”

He walks up to Finn and hands him an iced coffee, somehow managing to saunter in flip-flops. The man has a crazy-ass cat who lays on ice bags, is sweltering in this oppressive heat and still manages to pull off swagger in dollar footwear. Finn is fucked. Or would like to be. Dear god, where was his mind? Oh right, stroke. Or aneurysm. He manages to take a few gulps of the iced drink in his mouth and down his throat in hopes that it’ll cool down his thoughts. But Poe doesn’t seem to be paying attention to Finn’s internal struggle as he’s looking over the photos himself now.

“Yeah, this is why we don’t tend to see too many active duty guys in here. Not many of them realize it’s war we’re protesting, not the soldiers themselves. In fact, most of the people in these photos are ex-military.”

Finn’s eyes focus on a recent picture of Poe with his arm around a older woman. “Is that-”

“General Leia Organa. The one and only.” Poe rocks back and forth on his heels. “That was an incredible day, having her show up to that rally.”

“I studied her in basic training, her exactration strategies. Saved my whole unit because of her.”

“Really?” Poe’s eyes widen in surprise. “She’ll be happy to hear that.”

Finn’s mind stalls because of the way Poe is looking at him: like a hero. He tries to look away, settle the riot in his stomach when the second part of what Poe said catches up to him. “Wait, she comes in here?”

“When it’s not a sweatbox, yeah. I can let you know when she’s here, if you’re free you can stop by.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.” At least he had an excuse to exchange phone numbers now without making it obvious he is completely smitten after twenty minutes.

Finn has no idea how he managed to stumble into a place that sees the meeting of great minds like Poe Dameron and General Organa. Poe’s reputation of being an anti-war protester is well known on the base. Most soldiers saw him as another anti-military, anti-gun, weed smoking hippie who needed a reality check. Finn was never one to take barrak-talk seriously so he looked the guy up one night out of sheer curiosity.

The facts that never made it into the rumor mill are that Poe was a well decorated air force pilot, credited with multiple bombing strikes and rescue missions. He served two tours himself before leaving the service and disappearing for a while. There were some internet articles about him donating the money from his severance package to humanitarian organizations but that was never confirmed. Finn had admired the guy for taking a stand for what he believed in and actively doing something about it. Now that he is standing next to the man himself, Finn feels almost punk-drunk with excitement.

“Oi!” A woman shouts from the door as she props it open with one of the beat up chairs. “If you leave the door open you might get a breeze going.”

“Hey, Rey,” Poe waves. “Glad to see you had time to stop over.”

She gives him a half grin and drops a worn, canvas messengers bag on a table. “For your information, I knew what broke on the damned thing and was trying to track down the part before I showed up.” She pulls out a hunk of metal and waves it at them. “You’re welcome.”

Poe points dramatically at her. “You get a free sandwich today!”

“And if I’m right,” she points right back, “You get a working AC unit in about five minutes.”

“Win win!” Poe shouts at her retreating back before tapping Finn’s shoulder. “Stick around a little longer and it’ll get cooler in here.”

Finn smiles in return though he seriously doubts he’s going to cool down anytime soon.

***

Finn visits Rebellion every day for two weeks. At first, he comes up with excuses. He thought he left his phone or jacket or did he remember to pay for his drink the day before. By the fourth or fifth day, he realizes he has run out of excuses but Poe’s easy-going smile never falters. In those two weeks, the AC breaks three more times but Rey takes pity on them and brings in a fan from her mechanic's shop. Finn meets a couple of Poe’s Air Force friends, Snap and Jess, who like to hang out and play darts in the evenings.

After the first week, he stops making excuses altogether and just shows up. Every night, he finds himself walking the familiar route to Rebellion. And every night, he’s welcomed with an iced coffee and a smile. Even the weird cat is starting to warm up to him. It’s the first time in an extremely long time that he feels like he belongs.

It’s the beginning of the third week and Finn is lounging in a chair against a wall with an autographed Rush poster when Poe comes to sit down at the table with him. It’s not the first time he’s done it but Finn still tries to play it cool, like it happens all the time, despite his heart rate spiking and brain shorting. Poe’s still dressed in the standard summer clothing of shorts and flip flops except his shirt is black today. Finn likes the dark color better than the lighter ones despite the lighter ones standing out in more of a contrast against Poe’s Latino skin.

“So how are you doing, Finn?”

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. “Fine. How are you doing?”

Poe laughs easily. “I’m not the one three weeks into a leave. How are you adjusting?”

Finn shrugs. “Like I was never gone.”

Except that is the furthest thing from the truth. He hasn’t slept an entire night through because of nightmares or simple insomnia. He reports to duty on the base but barely speaks five words to the guys in his unit. When he leaves Rebellion, his only social interaction, he goes home to an empty apartment and watches Netflix until he falls asleep on the couch, wakes up from a nightmare and transfers to the bed where sleep continues to be elusive.

“Uh-huh.” Poe’s response speaks quite loudly just how much he believes Finn. “You going to any support groups or counseling since you’ve been back?”

He knows of a few groups that meet on the base but the idea of anyone who knows him showing any kind of support is laughable. “No, I haven’t gone to any. Not sure it would help much anyway.”

“Not the one on base, no,” Poe pulls out his phone and starts texting someone. “The General got me hooked up with one at the VA. Helped a lot with the PTSD. I’ll ask her if she knows of any one in particular that’s better than another.”

“Wait, you had PTSD?” Happy-go-lucky, smooth-as-fuck Poe Dameron had PTSD?

“Oh yeah. Didn’t sleep for two months after I got back and when I did, it was usually on the floor with my pack as a pillow. I was pretty messed up.” Poe puts the phone down and crosses his arms loosely. “It’s how I can tell you haven’t slept hardly at all in the last couple weeks.”

“What happened over there?” For the first time since Finn had met him, Poe looks very serious and it makes Finn uncomfortable.

“I went on a recon mission with another pilot. We had to fly over enemy territory in these cropdusters we had ‘borrowed.’ The people who gave us permission to use them also ratted us out. I was able to fly out with a barely functioning engine but the other pilot...they shot him right out of the sky.” A short, mirthless laugh comes out of him. “Most think people with PTSD you don’t like fireworks because of the noise but for me, the noise is fine. It’s the flash of light, the explosion that comes after it and the debris falling. It’s not something you forget. Especially without help.”

Finn nods in agreement. Even though he has talked about a myriad of subjects, Afghanistan is never one of them. Some of it he felt he could share with Poe but there were some things that left too deep of a wound. “I will check out the VA programs then.”

Poe leans back in his chair and gives Finn a scrutinizing look. “Is that a genuine promise or a ‘I’m just saying this to get my nosy friend to back off’ promise?”

Finn grabs onto the word ‘friend’ and struggles to keep a smile from forming. “It’s, uh, it’s genuine.”

“Good. Until then, you have my number. Use it whenever you need to. And when I say whenever you need to, I mean two in the morning post nightmare kind of need to.”

The offer touches Finn more than he cares to show so he tries to cover it with humor. “Don’t you sleep at all?”

“Please,” Poe laughs, “I’m around espresso and coffee all day. What I don’t drink just gets absorbed directly through my skin. It’s a wonder I don’t have an eye twitch.”

Finn laughs with him, certain that with or without an eye twitch, Poe Dameron would be the death of him.

***

It only takes three days before Finn finds himself on the floor of his bathroom, sweaty, shaking and his phone in his hand. The nightmares are getting worse. So much so, Finn just spent the last half hour retching his guts out. He can still taste sand and grit in his mouth. Feel the oppressive heat and weight of hopelessness and failure. Poe had sent him the name of a counselor recommended by the General but Charles Threpio wasn’t going to be in his office for another week.

It’s 2:45 in the morning. He promised Poe he would call him if this happened but he can’t bring himself to do it. So he switches from his contacts list to his text messages. He types up the most basic sentence his fear-addled mind can come up with and lets his thumb hover over the send button. He can do this. He can’t do this. He presses the send button and covers his face with his free hand. It’s not even a matter of minutes before the phone buzzes in his hand.

F: Nightmare. Bad.  
P: What’s your address? Or do you want to meet someplace?

Finn swallows down the panic and starts to think. The apartment is small and reeks of sweat and fear. He doesn’t want Poe coming to him.

F: Park. Across from the shop.  
P: Be there in five. Hang in there, buddy.

Finn takes a couple deep breaths. He can do that. He can hang in there for the time it takes to get dressed and head out to the park. Even though it’s so early in the morning, there are still people out and about. People getting up early to walk dogs or go for a run through the small, inter-city park. Each step seems to bring his heartrate down, the cool pre-sunrise air helps his breathing slow. The heat, sand and terror are becoming a distant memory and he now feels badly dragging Poe out in the middle of the night.

“Finn!”

He stops abruptly to see Poe jogging towards him. He takes him a little off guard to see him in jeans and long sleeved shirt. “Hey.”

“You walked right past me,” Poe huffs. “Damn, you’re fast.”

“Sorry, I didn’t-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Poe stands back and gives Finn the once over. “How you doing?”

Finn shoves his hands into his pockets. “Better.”

“Good!” Poe grabs Finn’s shoulder and squeezes. “Walking helps then?”

Finn is still trying process Poe’s hand on his arm and is finding he can’t speak and be touched at the same time. Not when Poe is involved.

“Let’s keep walking then,” Poe concludes, letting his hand drop and starting off in the direction Finn was already headed.

Finn’s mind is still nightmare-weary and his heart is pained. The steady beat of his feet on the pavement and the occasional brush of Poe’s arm against his own soothes the rough edges of his nerves. They meander through the park and when the pavement runs out, they start walking around the city. It isn’t until the sidewalks start to turn pink with the rising sun that Finn is able to find his voice.

“I was in charge of getting my unit and the convoy safely from point A to point B. I had 53 trips under my belt and never lost a truck or a man. Until the 54th trip. It was an IED on the side of the road and then an ambush. Got everyone out except one.”

“Finn-”

“His name was Slip. Everyone called him that because he was a thin, asthmatic that had no business being in the service. He slipped through the cracks. And then he slipped through another one when that truck hit the IED.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“I was in charge. I was responsible for their safety.”

“Finn.”

“His mother was at the airport.” He can still see the accusation in her eyes, the pain at losing a child. He doesn’t blame her. He doesn’t blame Slip.

“Finn, you gotta know it’s not your fault. You pulled off 53 convoys were perfectly safe. That’s...more than impressive. You need to focus on that.”

Part of him knows what Poe is saying is true but there’s still a part of him that feels that ache of guilt. He checks his watch and sees it’s almost opening time for the coffee shop. “You need to get back to shop.”

“Uh,” Poe motions to the building in front of them with bright turquoise door.

Finn has to laugh. “I didn’t even realize where we were.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told I have that effect on people.” Poe gives him a crooked grin as he unlocks the door. “Do you have to be on base?”

“No, not today.”

“Then why don’t you come in and have some breakfast? We can talk about something a little lighter. Like, renewable energy, animal rights or the new Twilight book from Edward’s perspective.”

Finn laughs but is about to decline, figuring he has taken up enough of Poe’s time. But then he meets Poe’s eyes, earnest and genuine in their question and he realizes he’ll never be able to say no when Poe asks him to do something. He is completely and utterly smitten with this reckless and charismatic man.

“Yeah, okay. I’d like that.”

“Me too.” Poe gives him a full fledged smile in response. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find some else who’s read that Twilight book.”

***

“You’re awfully quiet tonight.”

Finn looks up from the file in front of him to see Poe taking a seat across the table from him. “Yeah. Got a lot on my mind.”

“Care to share?”

“That’s okay. You probably want to close up…” he glances around the coffee house to see that he’s the only one there and everything has been cleaned up and prepared for closing. “Why didn’t you tell me to leave?”

Poe glances down at the table. “Because I didn’t want you to leave.” He looks up at him with that crooked grin and mischief in his eyes. “Because I’m actually a very bad person who’s going to keep you here forever so I’m never alone ever again.”

As if on cue, the cat jumps up on the table between them and meows indignantly. They both laugh as Poe picks the cat up and transfers him to his lap. Finn sits back in his chair and realizes he would be 100% okay with that arraignment. Ever since their early morning walk, Finn’s nightmares started to get less and less. Then he started up with counseling sessions with the guy at the VA and he is beginning to feel like the ground under his feet isn’t as shaky anymore.

Until he looks at Poe. Then everything just goes to hell and he’s not sure what’s up or down anymore. Smitten is quickly becoming a cutesy term for something that’s a bit more serious. He’s falling for this guy and he’s not even certain if Poe swings that way. He’s watched him interact with customers and the man flirts with everyone. And, Finn shifts uncomfortably in his chair, everyone flirts back. But then he says things to Finn, like the not wanting him to leave after everyone is gone, and Finn can’t tell if he’s flirting or just being himself. It is getting frustrating but Finn does have other things on his mind that need to get settled first.

“So seriously, man,” Poe raps his knuckles on the table, “what’s going on?”

Finn takes a deep breath and let’s it out. “I’m not sure I want to re-enlist. I need to let my CO know by Friday.”

All joking leaves Poe’s face. “Re-enlist, huh?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if I can do another tour over there.”

Poe is unusually quiet so Finn keeps talking.

“But if I stay, what do I do here? I’ve only ever been a soldier.” He opens the file in front of him and stares at the blank signature line at the bottom. He really doesn’t want to go back but he also doesn’t know how to be anything else. “I don’t know what to do.”

Poe reaches over and closes the file. “Then you do nothing for the time being.”

“I need to have an answer in two days.”

“Alright then,” Poe puts BB8 down on the floor much to the cat’s dismay and stands up. “Dishes it is.”

“What?!”

Poe motions to him to follow him into the back so Finn gets up and does just that. It’s the first time he’s been back in the kitchen area and it takes Finn aback. The public area is beaten up, worn and very much lived in but the kitchen is the complete opposite. It’s all stainless steel, clean and shiny. There are some empty coffee carafes that are sitting out on the prep table ready for the next morning. Poe is already filling up one side of the industrial sink with soapy water.

“Whenever I need to think about some serious things, I do dishes.”

“That,” Finn lets a smile creep across his face, “is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

It’s also the most adorable thing he’s ever seen. The weather is starting to take turn towards autumn and Poe has traded in his shorts for low-riding jeans and sleeveless t-shirts for long-sleeved button down shirts. Knowing that they are alone in the shop, added to watching this man handwash dishes, it’s everything Finn can do to keep his hands to himself. He really needs to figure out if there’s even a chance with Poe. Maybe Rey might know. She had been in and out of the coffeehouse as a regular and they were on friendly terms.

“Finn!”

He startles out of his thoughts. “Sorry. Mind wandered.”

“Yeah,” Poe laughs. “Noticed that. So now, you have a choice: do the dishes or tell me where you went.”

Finn is thankful that due to the dim lighting and his dark skin tone keeps his blush hidden. He wonders how that conversation would go. Yeah, Poe, was just trying to figure how the best way would be to go about telling you how much you mean to me and how I have this intense desire to kiss you senseless. With a great degree of restraint, Finn goes to the sink and puts his hands in the warm water.

“That bad, huh?” Poe picks up a dish towel and takes the rinsed plates and mugs from Finn. Every once in awhile, their fingers would brush and it would not help Finn’s concentration at all. But Finn is used to being dedicatedly focused on a task until it’s done and the sink full of dishes is no different. However, he reaches in for any stragglers and finds there are no more dishes to be washed. He pulls the drain and watches water and suds disappear.

“Okay, now you really need to tell me what’s going through your head.” Poe tosses the wet dishtowel into a basket in the corner. “I’m not used to you being so-”

Finn has no idea how it happens. One minute he’s staring into the sink and the next he has a fistful of Poe’s shirt, kissing him desperately. When his mind catches up to his body, he realizes this may be his first and last chance to enjoy this so he forces his mind to work, to remember. He can feel Poe’s heartbeat against the hand that’s holding the shirt, thudding and elevated against his knuckles. Poe is frozen, unmoving against Finn’s mouth. Reluctantly, he slides his lips from Poe’s and takes a step back, forcing his hand to open and let go completely.

He feels the need to apologize, to laugh it off, to just leave. But he can’t seem to figure out which one to do so he ends up staring into Poe’s shocked face.

“Oh, thank God,” Poe finally says before he grabs Finn by his shirt with both hands and tugs him into another kiss.

Relief is about the third emotion that hits Finn but only after confusion and surprise. Once the flurry of emotions had passed, Finn is able to focus on the sensations. Poe kisses like he does everything else, with full tilt enthusiasm. They’re pressed against each other so tightly and Finn realizes at some point he backed up against the refrigerator. Or is it the freezer? Poe pulls back slightly only to press wet, open mouthed kisses to the side of Finn’s neck.

“How long?” Poe asks him.

Finn’s head tips back, stopped by...whatever appliance it is. “How long what?”

Poe laughs as his hands run restlessly over Finn’s stomach and chest. “How long have you felt this way?”

“Honestly?”

Poe gives him that lopsided grin. “Yes, please.”

Finn swallows. “That first day.”

“No kidding. Guess we’re both idiots then.”

Finn drops his head so their foreheads are touching and his hands go to either side of Poe’s face. “I’ve been called worse.”

Poe’s hands still, resting on Finn’s waist and he goes uncharacteristically still. Fear creeps into Finn. Poe is having second thoughts about this. Too much, too fast. He drags his thumbs over Poe’s cheekbones one last time before he lets go but Poe starts talking again.

“You’re a good man, Finn.”

And here it comes. Finn steels himself for a dismissal. He’ll take it like a man.

“Good men go off into battle and never come back,” Poe continues. “I’ve seen it too many times.”

Finn releases the breath he’s been holding. “You don’t want me to re-enlist.”

“No. But I don’t like telling people what to do with their lives.”

Finn smiles. “You’re a protester. All you do is tell people what to do.”

“Excuse you,” Poe lifts his head to look at Finn in the eye. “I state my opinion on what people are supposed to do very loudly. And with the use of witty signage too.”

“How could I forget the signage?!”

“Witty signage, thank you very much.”

They’re both laughing like teenagers, arms twined around each other and intermittently kissing. It is the happiest Finn has been in a long time but he glances at the clock across the wall and sees it’s almost two in the morning. After a few more lingering kisses, Finn makes the painful decision to call it a night. However, he’s immediately rewarded with Poe trying to hide a yawn. Finn picks up his file of paperwork, gives BB8 a pat on the head, before walking towards the door.

Poe unlocks it and holds it open for him. “Let me make a couple calls tomorrow morning and see if I can’t come up with some alternative jobs for you. Just until you figure things out.”

“Thank you. For everything, really.” Finn leans forward and kisses him one last time, hoping his gratitude comes through. It must because when he pulls away, Poe’s smile is completely different from any of the previous ones Finn has witnessed. It’s muted, subtle, genuine. And it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.

***

He doesn’t re-enlist.

Poe shows his appreciation with a twenty-minute makeout session. It would have been longer if not for Rey interrupting them.

“Oy,” she announces as she walks into the kitchen. “General’s here.”

Finn feels like someone has dumped ice water over his head. He jumps off the prep table and starts buttoning up his shirt. Poe looks completely nonplussed by the situation and merely drags a hand through his hair. Rey rolls her eyes and goes over to Finn, knocking his hands away from his shirt.

“Honestly, you two are worse than a couple teenagers,” she chides without any anger as she re-buttons his shirt properly. “And I’m certain that what you were doing is not okay with the board of health.”

“I’ll be sure to let the building inspector look at that patch job you did on the heater then,” Poe retorts.

Rey just grins as she tugs some of the wrinkles out of Finn’s shirt. “Now you only look like you’ve been gently manhandled.”

Finn has heard so much about the General, both before coming to Rebellion and after. Poe spoke about her with such reverence and even Rey, brash and blunt Rey, shows respect to this woman. He wanted to be able to meet her looking more like a respectable soldier, less like a high schooler caught making out.

“You think she’ll notice?”

Rey and Poe both laugh good naturedly. Rey pats his shoulder. “Oh, she’ll notice.”

Poe takes his hand and tugs him towards the door. “But she won’t care, trust me.”

Finn certainly hopes so. Poe leaves him on his own since there are, in fact, customers, waiting at the counter. Rey has disappeared into the back to check on the heater that’s basically running on paperclips and duct tape. BB8 is lying on top of the espresso machine, using the grinder motor to keep warm. Finn gives the cat a quick pat and gets a loud purr in response. He can do this.

She’s sitting in the back corner of the shop, a plain cup of black coffee and a stack of files in front of her. She’s a little older and smaller than Finn expected but her presence fills the entire shop. He stands next to the table, unsure how to introduce himself when she looks up at him with warm brown eyes and a small but welcoming smile.

“You must be Finn.”

“General Organa, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Poe speaks very highly of you.” Finn snaps his mouth shut. He always rambles when he’s nervous.

She takes her glasses off and sets them on the table. “Poe speaks very highly of you as well. Please, sit down.”

He does as she asks and fights the urge to look over his shoulder at Poe. There is a warm feeling in his chest to think that Poe had spoken positively to someone as important as the woman in front of him. “I studied you in basic training. I used your strategies to get my unit out of an ambush situation.”

“It’s nice to know that some good can come out of my military service. Hopefully, I can do the same for you.”

“I’m a soldier, ma’am. Nothing more.”

“On the contrary, I have reviewed your military file as well as spoken at great length with Dr. Threpio. You have an exceptional eye for detail, analysis and strategy. But most importantly, you care about others. Did Poe ever tell you what I do?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Well, first thing, you can drop the ‘ma’am.’ Leia is just fine.”

“Yes, ma- uh, L-Leia.”

She smiles out of the corner of her mouth. “Good enough. I have my own business, pro-bono work mostly, helping our veterans get the post-war care they need. The government likes to tie up their benefits with red-tape and asinine paper trails. The people that work for me help them navigate the paperwork so that they can get the help they need much faster than if they were left on their own. Since we are mostly a pro-bono organization, I can’t offer to pay you much but it would be something. Does this sound like something you would be interested in doing?”

Finn doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely, I would love to be part of that.”

“You can think about it if you need the time. I don’t expect you to give me an answer right now.”

“I don’t need the time. I want to be part of this.”

“Excellent. Thank you so much, Finn.”

“Thank you, ma’am. General. Uh-”

She laughs good naturedly as Poe comes over the table and sets a to-go cup in front of Finn.

“So I take it you have a new employee, General?” Poe asks.

“Indeed I do. Thank you for that, Poe.”

“Anytime.” Poe squeezes Finn’s shoulder before leaving them alone again. Finn takes a deep breath and lets it go. He has a wonderful boyfriend and now a worthwhile job. And he managed to make through his first meeting with the General herself and didn’t completely embarrass himself.

“Here’s my business card,” she slides it across the table. “Just come to the address tomorrow morning and I’ll get you set up.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.” She smirks a bit. “I think there’s a secret message on your cup there.”

Finn picks up the cup, he can smell the peppermint tea that he’s come to drink by the gallon, and turns it around to face him. Poe has drawn an arrow down the side of the cup where he blacked out certain parts of the generic warning label of “Warning, the contents you are holding in the cup are extremely hot” so that it read “Warning, you are extremely hot.”

“Poe is incorrigible. It’s one of the reasons I like him.”

Finn runs his thumb over the words and smiles. “Yeah, me too.”

***

Finn wakes up with a start. It’s been so long since he’s had a nightmare that he’s forgotten what it feels like to be jolted awake by one. Thankfully, he can’t remember what exactly it was about and he doesn’t dwell on it. Instead, he reaches for Poe only to find the other man isn’t there. In fact, Finn is still on the couch in his apartment with the TV on and showing reruns of I Love Lucy.

Finn checks his watch. 3:18 am. Poe is never this late from closing up the coffee house. He picks up his cell phone and sees there are no missed calls or texts. He has a bad feeling about this and quickly gets up, turns off the TV and grabs his phone. The coffee house isn’t that far from his apartment and he tries to call Poe three times but he doesn’t receive any answer.

He reaches Rebellion and finds the front door locked and the lights off. Nothing looks out of the norm and he wonders if Poe, for some reason, decided to go back to his own place that night. That didn’t sound right either so Finn walks around to the back of the coffeehouse. As soon as he comes around the corner and into the alleyway, a large cat darts out from behind one of the dumpsters. It takes a minute for Finn to realize it’s BB8.

He scoops the cat up easily. “Hey buddy. What are you doing out here?”

The cat squirms and one of his feet touch Finn’s hand, cold and wet. Finn looks at the pads and realizes there’s blood on them. He pulls out his phone and dials 9-1-1 but hesitates to press send. Pressing send would mean there’s something wrong, that something happened to Poe.

A noise comes from behind the dumpster where BB8 had appeared from and Finn heads for the sound. That’s where he finds Poe, bloodied and trying to pull himself up off the ground. Finn takes the cat and shoves him into the kitchen and shuts the back door to the coffee shop before going back to Poe.

“Poe! Talk to me.” Finn is able to get him upright and get a decent look at the wounds. His lip is split, there are abrasions under his left eye and blood is still oozing down the side of his face from a head wound.

“Hey, Finn, buddy.”

The words are slurred and his eyes are having difficulty focusing on Finn. He presses send on his phone and by the time they stumbled out of the alley and to the front of the coffee house, the ambulance is pulling up. The paramedics descend on Poe with lights and questions. They pull off his leather flight jacket to check for other injuries and toss it to Finn. One of the medics comes over to Finn.

“Were you the one who found him?”

Finn tries to crane his neck to keep eyes on Poe. “Yeah, I found him.”

“What were you doing out here this late at night?”

Finn turns to the medic in surprise. “I’m his boyfriend. He didn’t come home tonight so I went looking for him.”

“And you found him like this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. We just have to ask these questions.”

Finn takes a deep breath and nods, watching them put Poe into the back of the ambulance. “Is he okay?”

“He should be but we need to take him in for a CAT scan and make sure there isn’t any more broken bones.”

Finn starts for the ambulance but the medic pushes past him.

“Sorry, family only. You can meet us at the hospital though.”

The back doors shut and the ambulance pulls away, leaving Finn standing on the sidewalk with Poe’s jacket in his hand. He doesn’t even know which hospital they’re taking him to. He starts walking back to his apartment to get his car and wonders if he should call Leia and Rey to let them know what happened. He is almost there when a car pulls up next to him.

“Finn!”

He turns to see Leia behind the wheel of her SUV. “General.”

“What happened?”

He goes over the passenger side and tries to tell her about Poe but his teeth are chattering from adrenaline and cold. Leia motions for him to get in the car so he does.

“Boy, put the man’s coat on before you freeze.”

Obediently, he does as she tells him. The jacket still smells of Poe, coffee and earth. It brings tears to his eyes and he finds himself covering his face to hide the fact he’s crying. Leia reaches out and rubs his arm.

“Finn, you have to tell me what’s going on. Is Poe okay?”

“I think so,” he finally manages to say. “He was suppose to come over to my place after he closed up but I feel asleep. I woke up and he wasn’t there so I went over to Rebellion. He was in the alley, beaten up. I called an ambulance, they wouldn’t let me go with them. I don’t even know where they took him.”

Leia pats him on the leg and puts the car into drive. “I know where they’re taking him. Call Rey, she’ll want to know.”

Finn pulls out his phone and calls Rey. He’s used to following orders and there’s something comforting in falling into that routine once again.

“Poe’s tougher than he looks,” Leia tells him. “He’ll be okay.”

She’s the General and Finn believes her.

It’s almost noon by the time they let Finn back to see Poe, thanks to some sway Leia has with the ER staff. Rey has been getting a constant stream of text updates since she opened the coffeehouse in Poe’s place. She had even sent a selfie of her and BB8 to show to Poe. It’s no surprise that the temporary room of Poe’s is the one with the giggling nurse coming out of it and it takes a weight off of Finn. It means that Poe is still his charming self.

However, when Finn sees him, he looks like hell. The left side of his face is swollen, his eye blackened and the split on his lip is angry and red. But his eyes still light up and he grins on the side of his mouth that isn’t injured.

“They finally let you back! I’ve been telling them since they brought me in to let you back here.” He points at Finn very seriously. “That’s my jacket.”

Finn starts to take it off but Poe laughs so he stops.

“Keep it. I actually kind of like it better on you.”

“Giving a guy your favorite jacket, he might think you’re serious about him.”

Poe’s eyes light up and a full grin spreads across his face. “I should hope so.”

***

It is a warm spring night, one of the first ones that announce the coming summer, and Poe convinces Finn it’s the perfect night to go to the roof of the coffee house and star gaze. He admits, it is very nice to lay under the stars on a clear night with Poe next to him. Even if he does keep checking his watch every five minutes until Poe reaches over and grabs his hand, lacing his fingers between Finn’s.

“Would you just relax?” Poe chides.

“We can’t be late to our own party.”

Poe laughs easily. “With the way the night is going, I think people would be shocked if we showed up on time.”

Finn smiles in response and squeezes Poe’s hand. It had been almost six months since the mugging in the alleyway. The police had investigated, with a little help from Finn and a push from the General, and traced it back to a gang that called themselves The Knights of Ren. Whatever the hell that was suppose to mean, the wannabe thugs found themselves slapped with community service and probation sentences. Poe wouldn’t hear of them serving any kind of jail time.

Poe is a good man, one of the best, and Finn is damn lucky to be the one beside him. Although to hear Poe talk, he was the lucky one. Finn turns his gaze from the stars to look at Poe’s profile in the dark. His hair is in a consistent state of artfully tousled. Finn used to be under the impression that Poe spent hours getting the look just right but three months of sharing living space showed him that the man spent a total of fifteen seconds on his hair. Just like his social skills, his look is effortless.

“Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“The whole point of stargazing is to look at the sky.”

“What if I want to look at something else?”

Poe rolls to his side so he’s leaning over Finn. “How did I get you?”

“I walked into a coffee house with a catchy name, a turquoise door and handsome owner and I never left.” Finn reaches up with his free hand to touch the side of Poe’s face. “So how did I get you?”

“I really liked that Army Lieutenant who wandered into that coffee house and I never wanted him to leave.”

Poe turns his head and presses his lips Finn’s palm and it sends a pleasant buzz of electricity through Finn. He uses that hand to pull Poe down for a proper kiss. Apparently that is the only invitation that Poe needs before Finn finds himself trying to keep up with his lover’s mouth and clever tongue. His hand rests on Poe’s belt buckle, fingers curling into the leather and metal when Poe bats his hand away and sits up.

“We’re going to be late to our party.”

Finn flops back on the ground, an itch under his skin and his temperature raised to an uncomfortable level. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Come on,” Poe jumps to his feet. “We get everyone to go home early, you can take ‘kidding’ out of your sentence.”

“I can fake a cold!”

“You can’t fake a cold.”

Finn rolls himself up onto his feet and straightens his clothes. “Then I want that promise in writing.”

Poe leans forward and kisses him sweetly on the lips which is just as arousing as the full on onslaught Finn just endured. “How’s that? Good enough?”

“I might need another one.”

“We’re late.”

Finn rolls his eyes. “Fine.”

They go down the three flight stairs that lead them to the kitchen of coffeehouse. They can see the light peeking through the double doors that lead out into the main part of the shop. Music drifts into the kitchen, an indie local group that Poe sometimes joins. They go through the doors and Finn is slightly surprised at how many people are already there.

Jess Pava and Snap Wexley are already halfway through a dart game and they both wave in greeting to Poe and Finn. A couple of veterans that Finn had helped navigate through their paperwork had shown up and raised their drinks in his direction. A few regulars to the coffee shop had stopped in as well as some of Poe’s protestor friends from the local college. And finally, Finn’s eyes settled on the General, seated at her regular corner table, a glass a wine in her hand. He starts to head over there when the door opens and Rey walks in, tool belt and canvas bag adorning her sparkling minidress.

“Congratulations on your new home,” she announces over the noise, “which now has a fully operational hot water heater!”

“Whooo-hooo!” Poe shouts back. “Get that girl whatever she wants for the night!”

Finn gives her a hug and thanks her for going over to the mess of a house he and Poe had purchased to fix that problem before continuing his walk over to the General. He sits down across from her and smiles warmly.

“Thank you for coming, ma’am.”

“I’m never going to break you of that, am I?” she smiles back. “It’s my pleasure. I like celebrating the happiness of two deserving people.”

Finn notices that there’s a slight downturn to the corners of her mouth. “Is everything alright?”

She nods. “Yes, of course.”

He gives her a scrutinizing look and she finally gives in.

“Oh alright, fine. I didn’t want to bring up business at a social function.” She sighs lightly. “I was going to ask you tomorrow if you would be willing to work on a side project for me.”

“Sure, of course. What is it?”

She pulls a file out of her purse and slides it across the table. Finn opens the front of it and sees a picture of man, graying blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. He realizes it’s a missing person’s file for Luke Skywalker.

“Luke’s my brother,” the General tells him. “He’s been missing for ten years. I believe he’s still out there, alive but no one can seem to locate him. I was hoping you might be able to help me. Look at the evidence, track down some leads.”

It certainly is out of his field of expertise but if the General thinks he can help, then he will. “I’ll be more than happy to help.”

She reaches out and clasps his hand in both of hers. “Thank you, Finn.”

“General!” Poe greets her with a swift kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Poe leans down like he’s about to conspire with them and Finn knows this will not be good.

“General, I’m going to need your help in about an hour.”

“What do you need, Poe?”

“I need you to clear this place out because I made a promise to this handsome fellow across from you-”

“Poe,” Finn tries to put an edge of warning in his voice. Surely Poe wouldn’t go so far as to tell the General, of all people, what that promise was. Would he?

“That I would take him back to our house-”

“Poe!”

“And break in the said house by-”

“POE!”

“Thoroughly fucking him.”

Finn covers his face with his hand and firmly believes that dying from embarrassment is truly a literal thing.

The General chuckles. “I believe I can help you make good on that promise.”

“That’s because you are a queen,” Poe gives her one last peck on the cheek before moving off to the next group of guests.

Finn finally removes his hand and tries not to look at the General in the eye but he can’t help noticing that she’s smiling.

“Incorrigible, Finn,” she says with warmth and affection. “He will always be incorrigible.”

And Finn can’t help but return her smile because he wouldn’t want Poe to be any other way.


End file.
